I havent found a reference to this so here's the question.
The manual says use silicon grease to lube the brake caliper slide rails once each year.  The shop tells me that the tires must be removed all the way around to remove the bolts for the rails.  Seems like there has to be an easier way if it is done yearly.
The system is air over hydraulic with four wheel disk.  I have no record of this ever being done so I'm thinking its as dry as they look and more.
Thanks much for any input!
Keith

On the 1998 Monterey I had in 2003 I had the same problem. The first year I put it up on blocks and had a tire guy come by and remove the tires and wheels. I then lubed the caliper slides and the tire guy came back and installed the wheels and tires.  For the next 3 years I blocked up one wheel at a time and then sprayed the lube through the hole in the wheel lining it up to the lower and upper slide rails. I also had to connect 3 of those little red sprayer tubes together. It was a little tough at times but it did work and I never had any brake hang-ups. Hope that helps. Marty

Your shop was correct when they said that you need to remove the wheels to service the brake calipers. The once a year service schedule is a worst case scenario that assumes that the coach will be operated on salted winter roads.

If the brakes have never been serviced on a 12 year old coach, you are pushing your luck, however if the coach is not operated under corrosive conditions (salted roads, salty air beach areas, or stored in very high humidity) you can probably get by with checking the brakes for wear and cleaning and lubricating the caliper slides if necessary ever 6 or 7 years when the tires are replaced. However if your brake pads are getting thin or if corrosion or rust are present, more often services would be necessary.

With the type of brakes on your coach a lack of service can result in the caliper sticking in a partially applied condition that will overheat the brake and possibly cause a complete failure of that brake, so the cost of a brake service can be money well spent.

I have full air disk brakes on my coach and I check the brakes for wear and lubricate the calipers every other year.

Gerald

Thanks Marty and Gerald, all that helps me put some perspective on it.  I am considering having it evaluated in Bend after the rally.  Problem is the labor is almost the same as replacing the pads so why go half way.
Perhaps Gerald can tell me how thick the pads are new so I can tell how far gone they are?  I dont want to have it go out on my way through the mountains.
Thanks guys!


Hey Marty, what were you using to spray them with?

Keith,
I have never replaced the brake pads on that particular brake system, but I would estimate the new lining thickness at somewhere between 3/4 and 1 inch.

I do not know how much the brake pads cost on your coach, but the OEM pads on my Marquis cost $175 per wheel. So do not expect your brake pads to be in the $10 to $20 range that some cars cost. If your pads cost in the same range as the pads on my Marquis, premature replacement would probably not be advisable.

The one year service interval that the owner's manual recommends is probably more for product liability lawyers than for coach owners, although I am sure that there are some operating conditions were it is advisable. The one year service interval could otherwise be known as the CYA approach to prevent law suits. Beaver Coach Sales in Bend can probably tell you how often they run into problems from lack of lubrication on coaches like yours that are used under different conditions.

Gerald

Keith, I used CRC White Lithium grease in the spray can.

Big big help.  Thanks to both of you!